


Hana Ichi Monme

by velvetcat09



Category: Gintama
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Silver Soul Aftermath Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27209089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetcat09/pseuds/velvetcat09
Summary: Thanks to that dumb man, his steps are far more certain now.
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 5
Kudos: 60





	Hana Ichi Monme

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Hana Ichi Monme children game and also Hana Ichi Monme by Burnout Syndrome  
> I just feel like I had to write something now that I've finished the anime as well

_One monme of flowers with uncertainties_

* * *

Silent night. Everyone is resting, it’s a well deserved rest. These past few years have been rough for Edo. Invaded, destroyed, blown into smithereens. But standing, not broken, rebuilt with better structure its time. The cycle of death and rebirth. Or maybe that it never died in the first place. Edo has everyone that protects it, will fight tooth and nail for it.

It has people who loves it.

Not once did it ever waver, his sense of duty remains strong within Hijikata. It’s what people would think of him as the Vice Commander of Shinsengumi, as a policeman, as Edo’s protector. But if he was to tell the truth, it did waver once. If it weren’t for that silver haired idiot back then, Hijikata would probably still be second guessing everything. His steadfastness now is all thanks to him.

Thanks to that dumb man, his steps are far more certain now. So much so that he didn’t even draw his sword.

“Kind of weird not being greeted with threats to cut down my head from you, nowadays.” Gintoki appeared all of the sudden next to Hijikata. From a lonely footsteps of a single patrolling policeman, to having a company.

“What, you prefer that? I can threaten you now if you want.” They walk a leisure pace. Hijikata finding himself slowing down to Gintoki’s lazy steps.

“No thanks, who’d ever prefer such a thing.” Gintoki snorts, resting his left arm inside his kimono. “But you have to admit, it’s _weird_.”

“What’s weird is your stupid perm head. I told you, the Shinsengumi will never forget what you’ve done for us. I won’t forget what you did—”

“And I said we’re already even. _You helped us_.” Hijikata glanced and met with Gintoki’s own gaze. The contact broke after a short while, a moment that’s longer for it to be casual, yet neither have any objection to it.

Gintoki was right. It _is_ weird that Hijikata has no qualms in being intruded by Gintoki out of nowhere in the middle of patrol like this. He has no objection walking side by side like this, like they’re good friends just heading home from drinking together.

Ah, but that’s where they currently are, aren’t they? No more pointing sword at each other, or rather, there’s no more hostility inside him towards the silver-haired samurai. Hijikata doesn’t know exactly when it occurred, probably somewhere in series, maybe early, maybe late, certainly before he said goodbye to Edo; it just becomes natural for him to trust Gintoki instead of being suspicious of him. Somehow he calms down a little when he knows Gintoki is involved in whatever fiasco they’re into, his instinct surrendering a small part into trusting Sakata Gintoki. No matter the turmoil inside him, a fraction of him will calm down whenever he notices Gintoki is there. And slowly, surely, it developed into an even bigger trust. From just believing on his soul, to trusting every single action the man did, despite how much of a harbinger of chaos Sakata Gintoki is.

“Hijikata,” He looks at Gintoki who looks at the destroyed Central Terminal in the horizon. “how long.. _No_ , what would’ve made you given up on looking for me?”

Hijikata just looks at him, trying to decipher Gintoki’s face. Everything and nothing, whenever he tries to read the other man, it always throws his balance off. They share similar thought pattern, the way they think will end up reaching the same conclusion; and yet Hijikata can never truly read Gintoki. He understands and doesn’t at the same time. He understands the way Gintoki implying that Hijikata would keep on looking for him, no matter how long it will take him, he’ll keep searching for the man if they hadn’t met on Shouka Sonjuku that day. Because that’s the truth, Gintoki is absolutely right in thinking that way, Hijikata understands why he cuts his question and changes it. What he doesn’t understand is Gintoki’s persistent in questioning it, what would entice the man in knowing what would made Hijikata gave up on looking for him. That’s the kind of question that Hijikata doesn’t know the answer because he never thought of it. Perhaps this is where their similarity differs. Hijikata who continues, and Gintoki who stops.

Hijikata blinks. “Nothing, I guess.” He turns to look at the same object far in the distance. “I’ll keep searching until I find you. If you’re alive, then good. If you’re dead, then I’ll search for what you were searching. I’ll bring it to your grave and shove it on your stupid corpse’s face.”

“You say that as if I’m gonna die earlier, oi, go check on the hospital of your ashen lungs, you nicotine freak.”

“Of course you’d die earlier, you’re no longer pre-diabetic, you’re a completely diabetic old man now, you sugar freak.”

“Who the fuck are you calling old man.”

“Go look in the mirror, see your already white hair, old man.”

“It’s natural! And I’m only like five months older than you, that just make you the same as I am, old man.”

“Like hell I am, my pillow doesn’t reek of old man scent, unlike you.”

“My pillow doesn’t stink, oi!”

Hijikata breaks into laughter and grins at Gintoki. “ _Yes, it does!_ ”

Seeing and hearing Hijikata laughing into the night like that loosens Gintoki’s own face into a small fit of chuckles. Gintoki grabs Hijikata to stop him for a moment before leaning and kisses the raven’s still widespread lips.

“And you like that old man smell, don’t you?”

Hijikata pinches Gintoki’s nose. “Pft, as if.”

He really has no objection being this close to Gintoki anymore. If anything, he wishes they stay like this forever. True that he’d look for Gintoki til the end of time if that was how it had to be, but Hijikata was forever grateful that it didn’t have to be that way. He has it in him to be patient, has it in him to continue chasing this man’s back, but there’s no saying that it’d be a comfortable ride. Two years already twisted his heart enough, even though it ended well. Trusting Gintoki has never been wrong for him, and because of that Hijikata has it in him to no longer waver at anything.

“No, but seriously, did it ever occur to you that I’d join the bad guy? Turn myself into the end-game antagonist? I’d be a hard final boss to beat, you know.” Gintoki’s hand remains holding onto Hijikata.

“ _Nah_.” Gintoki only blinks at him. “But even if you did, I’d bring you back to our side.”

Not a single doubt, not a spec of uncertainty, no more hesitation.

“You belong here, so we’re never upset when or if we lost you.”

Hijikata takes a step back, making a small space between them without letting go of that hand that’s still intertwined with Gintoki’s.

“Because we never let you go in the first place.”

Hijikata squeezes Gintoki’s hand and then kicks some dirt on the silver-haired samurai’s direction. Gintoki laughs, watching a dirt soiling his white kimono.

“ _Hana Ichi Monme_ ; what are you, five?”

“Told ya’, you’re the old man here, _ossan_.”

* * *

_We're so happy we won, hana ichi monme_

_We're so upset we lost, hana ichi monme_

_We want that kid_

_We don't know which kid you mean_

_Let's talk about it_

_Yes, let's_

**Author's Note:**

> Hana Ichi Monme (花一匁) is a traditional Japanese children's game. The name "Hana Ichi Monme" means "a flower is one monme", where a monme is a historical (Edo period) Japanese coin with a value of 3.75 grams of silver. Players split into two groups, and the members of each group hold hands, so that the teams face each other in two lines. One group steps toward the other in the rhythm of a song that is used only for the game, and the other steps back so that the team lines remain parallel. In each phrase of the song, the team that is stepping back changes, and the team creates a move that associates a swing. Each time the song ends, the team leaders step forward and do janken, a Japanese version of rock paper scissors. The winner goes back to his team, and they discuss who the team wants to add from the other team. After they have decided, they sing another song doing the same movement and announce the person they want. The game ends when one team loses all of its members. (Taken from Wikipedia)


End file.
